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The 1930s

Previously...

The Depression Era was a difficult one for grocery retailers. Many folded and others switched to an economy format. This was also the dawning of the supermarket era, with Ralphs stores in Los Angeles and King Kullen and Big Bear in the northeast.

Safeway was relatively slow to switch to the larger, volume format, as were A&P and numerous other large chains which preferred to stay with outlets in streetcar strips relying on pedestrian or transit traffic. Parking lots were nonexistent for these type stores, and there was no consistent architectural treatment either. By the end of the decade, however, Safeway had embraced the supermarket format, while still operating many older, smaller stores.

Much of Safeway's expansion through 1935 continued to be through mergers and acquisitions. Ling Warren began two decades as Safeway's president in 1934.

Safeway operated 2967 stores nationwide and had sales of $385 million in 1939. The number of stores nationwide peaked in 1936 with 3370.

In San Francisco:

Safeway was still a newcomer to San Francisco as the 1930s began. Its 42 locations (and additional 23 Piggly Wiggly units acquired in 1928) were strong, but small in number compared to 104 Mutual/MacMarr stores and 93 Public stores. This balance would change dramatically over the next ten years as Safeway merged, acquired, and pushed other stores out of the picture in San Francisco and elsewhere.

In 1930, 17 of Safeway's original 1927 outlets were still operating. Only seven would remain in the chain by 1940. The original two Skaggs stores were closed by 1935.

However, the total number of Safeway stores swelled to 142 during the decade. In the late 1930s, 17 Piggly Wiggly units were converted to the Safeway brand. Additionally, mergers and acquisitions brought the Safeway name to 9 former Public stores and 25 former Mutual/MacMarr locations.

With competitors eliminated and the trend toward fewer and larger stores, most of these newly-acquired units would close during the next decade as Safeway entered its first golden era of supermarkets. The 1940s proved to be an era of big change, as only two of Safeway's locations from the 1930s survived the period as part of the chain. The 1930s units were among the shortest-lived in the company's history.

As World War II began, Safeway had essentially eliminated all its competition in San Francisco and had assumed a market dominance which continues there to this day.

On to the 1940s...